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Adelaide

ALMS

31/12/2000

Friday 2

Night Practice

Track images from the www.americanlemans.com sitelink

So far it’s not a good Lola meeting. The Olive Garden car misses night practice with a broken diff., while Franz Konrad’s B2K / 40 is being worked on to be ready for Qualifying on Saturday afternoon.

The 70 minute combined night session began at 20.35. The #91 Viper was repaired and ready to go, for what was expected to be an eventful spell on the track. 24 of them are more than enough on a street circuit, as the race is expected to prove. The #37 Cirtek Porsche had a spin early on and continued, with the #10 PTG BMW rattling over the kerbs to provide more entertainment.

The Audis still look set to dominate this one, the two cars either side of 1:26 in the early minutes, three seconds clear of anyone else. The two red Vipers were even further ahead of their class opposition, but PTG were keeping Dick Barbour honest in GT.

It was relatively uneventful in the end, #66 suffering an oil leak and the Tinseau / Goossens Cadillac had a small exhaust fire which barely delayed it. But the Cadillacs seem to be marooned four seconds off Audi pace. #30 spun and hit the wall, resulting in a small fire. To add to Rob Schirle’s woes, #37 stopped on the track with tricky electrics.

Audi still headed the P times, Oreca the GTS times and Barbour the GT times. David Brabham was within a second of the best R8 time though. Maassen / Wollek are monstering the Vipers again, and the GT class still looks like the best race in prospect. Take a look at that Chamberlain Viper time though. Stephen Watson was less than half a second away from the second Oreca entry. “I enjoy the warm climate but hope that it doesn't get too hot for the race on Sunday,” said the South African. “The Viper is not the coolest of cars...” Can his pals in #61 match that pace?

PROTOTYPE:
#78 1:25.550 / #77 1:25.645 / #12 1:26.404.

GTS:
#91 1:35.323 / #92 1:38.006 / #61 1:38.428

GT:
#51 1:36.977 / #35 1:37.313 / #10 1:38.129

Rohan Skea had brake troubles on #71: "We believe this is due to corrosion caused by salt water when the car was shipped here."

Olivier Beretta: "The track is harder to drive in real life than we've tested on the Playstation... the walls are real."

Hans Stuck: "I love the circuit. I think it's one of the best circuits in the world. I have been overwhelmed with the welcome I have received and I say thanks to everyone in Australia."

More from Michael Olsson at the track on Saturday.